Effective and Time Effecient Upper Body Training For Athletes
Lately, one of the most frequently asked questions I have been getting is how to incorporate upper body strength training into a vertical jump program. What are good exercises?, How many sets?, How many reps? How often? All of these are good questions and very frequently asked so I am going to outline an upperbody split that everyone can customize to fit their specific needs.
First of all, a push/pull type split for the main exercises is hard to beat when it comes to upper body training for an athlete. The exercises actually potentiate each other and instead of hammering away at all your pressing or pulling muscles one after another, you hit the pressing muscles hard, then, while they are recovering, you hit the pulling muscles which are not yet fatigued. This translates to more total poundage being used, better time management, and a structurally sound program that works both sides of the body equally. An example of a push/pull type routine is a bench press, followed by a inverted row, or a push press followed by a pull up. I will go into more detail on how to set this up below, vertical push/vertical pull and horizontal push/horizontal pull is a great way to set it up.
Next, sets and reps can be very confusing and hard to decide on a plan. Do too many sets and your workout takes forever, cuts into your recovery time, and detracts from your original goal of improving your vertical jump. Do to little, and you dont progress. So whats the answer? How can we incorporate a set/rep scheme into our upper body training plan that allows us to stimulate the body enough to progress, yet is time effecient and doesnt detract from our recovery from our plyometric and lower body intensive training schedule? Welcome to rest-pause training! Now the way we use rest-pause training is a little different than typical bodybuilding style rest-pause methods, remember, we are ATHLETES, not bodybuilders. Potentiation methods, explosive reps, and different exercise selection are key here, the time between sets and progressions will be similar.
So what exactly is rest-pause training? Simply put, we are going to take an exercise, ramp up to a weight that we can move explosively for at least 5 reps, and do 3 sets of as many reps as possible in solid form, resting 30-45seconds or the time it takes you to take 15 deep breaths between sets, and add up the total repetitions we completed in the three sets for our total. This three set total, regardless of the total of each individual set, is what we have to beat the next time we repeat the exercise. Lets say your doing standing press, you will work up to a weight that feels somewhat challenging, yet can still be moved explosively without sticking. Your build up or warm up sets are 3-5 reps, the idea is not to fatigue the body but to ramp up the nervous system. Once you hit that weight, whatever it may be, you are going to perform your first set. Get as many reps as possible while maintaing solid form, rest for 15 breaths (take long, deep, breaths) or 30-45 seconds, perform the 2nd set the same exact way, rest for 15 breaths or 30-45 seconds, and then do the same for a third. Total these three sets up and write the number down in your journal. Once you come back to this exercise, you have to either beat the rep total, or add weight to the exercise and get a similar rep total. ALWAYS PROGRESS!! you have 3 sets to beat what you did the last time, this makes it very realistic for you to improve in a linear fashion since you arent worried about beating just one set like in a traditional approach. If you did the press, the weight you used was 150lbs and you got 7 reps, 5 reps, and 3 reps, then your total is 15 reps at 150lbs. The next time you press, you either need to get 16 reps at 150lbs, or 13-15 reps at 155 lbs. Once your rep total exceeds 25 total reps, you need to add weight to the exercise. If your rep total does not exceed 12 reps, you need to reduce the weight or stay there if you think you can hit 12 or more total the next time. Very simple and very effective way to progress. You will be in and out of the gym in no time and progressing constantly if you adhere to these guidelines.
Okay, so we know that we want a push/pull upper body setup, and we know that we want to use rest-pause set/rep schemes when performing them. Below I am going to give an example of how to set this up using two different upper body workouts (important to have at least two different templates so progression will be possible workout to workout), and how to incorporate assistance type exercises into the plan. The guidelines will be the same, you can adjust the exercises any way you like, just adhere to the structure of the template.
Upper body day 1- (monday)
Bench Press- ramp up in sets of 5 to a weight that feels challenging, but you could easily get 2 or 3 more explosive reps with. Perform 3 rest-pause sets and total the results.
Recline Pull ups- ramp up in sets of 5 to a weight that feels challenging but could be easily done for 2-3 more explosive reps. Perform 3 rest-pause sets and total the results
(Assistance work)
paralell bar dips- 2 rest pause sets with a moderate weight.
standing bicep curls- 2 rest pause sets with a moderate weight.
shoulder prehabilitation- band pull apart + overhead shrug- 2 sets of 20 reps w/light load, no rest pause sets.
Upper body day 2- (thursday)
Standing Press- ramp up in sets of 5, perform 3 rest pause sets and total the results.
Pull up (weighted if need be)- ramp up in sets of 5, perform 3 rest pause sets and total the results.
(Assistance work)
Close grip bench press- 2 rest pause sets w/ a moderate weight.
Seated dumbell curl- 2 rest pause sets w/a moderate weight.
** Once you have established a rest-pause total for a given exercise with a certain weight you will know exactly where to end your ramping, warm up sets. Log everything you do and next time you come back to it, DESTROY your previous rep total, or add more weight! Simple but extremely effective!
Okay, so thats about it, hope everyone has a good idea how to implement this type of loading now and can start getting their upper body stronger, more explosive, and in the least amount of time neccessary for growth. This type of loading can go on infinitely but as with any type of program, once you accomodate to the exact same exercise and have not progressed either by adding more weight or more total reps in successive training sessions, just swap the exercise out for another one, then when you come back to it later on you will be able to beat your best performance very shortly
